92 DOGS AND ALL ABOUT THEM 



The result of Captain Graham's investigations when seek- 

 ing for animals bearing some relationship to the original 

 Irish " Wolfe Dogge " was that three strains were to be found 

 in Ireland, but none of the representatives at that time was 

 anything like so large as those mentioned in early writings, 

 and they all appeared to have deteriorated in bone 

 and substance. Sir J. Power, of Kilfane, was responsible for 

 one line, Mr. Baker, of Ballytobin, for another, and Mr. 

 Mahoney, of Dromore, for the remaining strain. From bitches 

 obtained from two of these kennels, Captain Graham, by 

 crossing them with the Great Dane and Scottish Deerhound, 

 achieved the first step towards producing the animal that he 

 desired. Later on the Russian Wolfhound, better known 

 as the Borzoi, an exceedingly large hound, was introduced, 

 as also were one or two other large breeds of dogs. 



The intermixture of these canine giants, however, was not 

 at first very satisfactory, as although plenty of bone was 

 obtained, many were most ungainly in appearance and ill- 

 shaped animals that had very little about them to attract 

 attention. Captain Graham, however, stuck to his work, 

 and very soon the specimens that he brought forward began 

 to show a fixity of type both in head and in general outline. 

 Brian was one of his best dogs, but he was not very large, as 

 he only stood just over thirty inches at the shoulder. Banshee 

 and Fintragh were others, but probably the best of Captain 

 Graham's kennel was the bitch Sheelah. It was not, however, 

 until towards the end of the last century that the most 

 perfect dogs were bred. These included O'Leary, the property 

 of Mr. Crisp, of Playford Hall. O'Leary is responsible for 

 many of the best dogs of the present day, and was the sire of 

 Mrs. Percy ShewelTs Ch. Cotswold, who is undoubtedly the 

 grandest Irish Wolfhound ever bred. In height Cotswold 

 stands 34$ inches and is therefore perhaps the largest dog of 

 any breed now alive. 



In 1900 Mr. Crisp bred Kilcullen from O'Leary, this dog 

 winning the championship at the Kennel Club Show at the 



